# Burpee Over The Bar - Canonical: https://fitwill.app/exercise/10181/burpee-over-the-bar/ - Media ID: 10181 - Primary muscle: Quads - Body part: Full Body - Equipment: Barbell - Video: https://fitwill.app/videos/10181/burpee-over-the-bar.mp4 ## Description The Burpee Over The Bar is a full-body conditioning movement that combines a burpee with a lateral jump over a loaded barbell resting on the floor. Instead of jumping straight up at the top of the burpee, you explode sideways to clear the bar, then drop into another burpee facing the opposite direction. Each repetition ends with your body on the other side of the bar, so the barbell itself sets the distance and rhythm of the drill. This is one of the most demanding conditioning exercises you can do with nothing but a bar on the ground. It trains explosive power through the hips and legs, pressing strength through the chest, shoulders, and triceps during the push-up, and trunk stability through the entire cycle. Because you repeat it back and forth over the bar, it also builds footwork, coordination, and a strong aerobic and anaerobic engine. The setup matters more than people expect. The bar should sit on the floor with light plates or no plates at all, giving you a low, clearly visible hurdle to clear. Set it in open space with at least a couple of feet of clearance on each side so you have room to land and drop into the next burpee without clipping the bar or drifting into equipment around you. To execute it well, think of the burpee and the jump as one continuous flow rather than separate stops. Drop your hands, shoot your feet back, perform the push-up with a straight body line, snap your feet under your hips, and immediately drive laterally over the bar. Landing soft and low on the far side lets you flow straight into the next repetition facing the direction you came from. This movement shows up most often in conditioning circuits, CrossFit-style workouts, and finishers where the goal is maximum repetitions in a set time. It suits intermediate to advanced trainees who already own the basic burpee and are comfortable with lateral jumping. Beginners can still use it by stepping back and stepping over instead of jumping, keeping the same structure at a lower demand. From a safety standpoint, the two risks are tripping on the bar and letting your lower back sag during the push-up portion. Clear the bar fully before descending, keep your hands planted wide and your ribs down through the push-up, and stop the set when your foot speed degrades enough that your landing gets heavy or sloppy. ## Instructions 1. Place a barbell on the floor with light plates or no plates so the bar sits low, and position yourself beside it with about an arm's length of clear space on both sides. 2. Stand tall next to the bar with your feet roughly hip-width apart, arms relaxed at your sides, and your eyes on the bar so you know exactly where it sits. 3. Hinge at the hips and place your palms flat on the floor shoulder-width apart, then jump or step your feet back into a high plank with your body forming one straight line from head to heels. 4. Brace your abs and perform a push-up, lowering your chest toward the floor with your elbows tracking back at about 45 degrees, keeping your hips from sagging. 5. Snap your feet forward under your hips so they land just outside your hands, rising onto the balls of your feet with knees bent. 6. Drive laterally off both feet and jump sideways over the bar, lifting your knees enough to clear it completely without touching it. 7. Land softly on the balls of your feet on the far side with knees bent, now facing the direction you jumped from. 8. Exhale sharply on the jump over the bar and inhale during the plank or push-up phase, keeping a rhythm you can hold across many reps. 9. Immediately lower your hands back to the floor and flow into the next burpee, repeating back and forth over the bar for your target reps or time. 10. On the final rep, step over the bar rather than jumping, stand fully upright, and reset your stance before starting the next set. ## Tips & Tricks - The most common failure is clipping the bar with your feet on a tired lateral jump. If your knees stop driving up, switch to a deliberate step-over instead of risking a stumble over the bar. - Keep your hands planted while your feet travel over the bar only if your wrists feel fine; otherwise stand fully before turning and stepping back over for a lower-impact version. - Sagging hips during the push-up are a telltale sign of fatigue in this movement. Squeeze your glutes and pull your ribs down before each descent to protect your lower back. - Face the opposite direction each time you land. Reorienting your body on every rep is part of the skill, and skipping it turns the drill into plain lateral jumps. - Load the bar with small plates only. A high bar changes the jump from a quick lateral hop into a maximal effort and sharply raises the trip risk. - Aim to land quietly. Heavy, flat-footed landings over the bar mean your calves and ankles are absorbing more shock than they should and your pace is too fast. - Chalk or lightly moisten your palms if your hands slip on smooth flooring, since your hands carry you in and out of every plank position. - Count reps per side rather than total hops if you train for time, so you always finish a set balanced on both sides of the bar. - Place the bar on a mat or non-slip surface if the floor is slick, because a bar that rolls under your landing foot is the worst-case scenario in this drill. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What muscles does the Burpee Over The Bar work? It is a genuine full-body movement: the quads, glutes, and calves power the jump over the bar, while the chest, shoulders, and triceps drive the push-up. Your abs and hip flexors work continuously to move you between the standing, plank, and jump positions. ### How high should the barbell be for the Burpee Over The Bar? Keep it low, either an empty bar or one loaded with small plates. The goal is a quick lateral clear, not a maximal jump, so the bar only needs to be tall enough to demand a deliberate knee lift. ### Is the Burpee Over The Bar suitable for beginners? Yes, with modifications. Step back into the plank, skip the push-up or do it from the knees, and step over the bar instead of jumping. Once the pattern feels smooth, reintroduce the jump and the full push-up. ### Should I do a push-up on every Burpee Over The Bar rep? Traditional burpees include the push-up, and the full version does too, but many conditioning workouts allow a plank-only burpee when speed is the priority. Pick one standard before the set and hold it consistently. ### Why do I keep hitting the bar with my feet? You are most likely jumping too early, before your feet have snapped fully under your hips, or your knee lift is fading as you tire. Slow the transition, exaggerate the knee drive, or step over temporarily while you rebuild the pattern. ### How many Burpee Over The Bar reps should I do? They are usually programmed for time or rounds, such as 20 reps for time or max reps in 60 seconds, rather than straight sets. Start with short work windows of 30 to 45 seconds and stop when your landing quality drops. ### What can I use instead of a barbell for the Burpee Over The Bar? Any low, stable obstacle works, such as a pair of dumbbells laid flat, a medicine ball, or a low step platform. Just make sure it cannot roll or shift if your foot brushes it. ### Do I need to alternate sides, or can I jump back over the same way? The standard execution has you land facing the opposite direction and immediately repeat, so you travel back and forth over the bar. This alternating pattern is what trains the footwork and keeps the workload symmetrical. ### Is the Burpee Over The Bar hard on the knees or lower back? It is demanding on both areas when performed with sloppy mechanics, particularly sagging hips in the plank and stiff landings over the bar. Soft ball-of-foot landings, an active brace, and cutting the set when fatigued keep the stress on muscles rather than joints.